Global Warming Opens New Artic Shipping Lane

For years mariners have wished that they could find a shipping lane that was a short cut between Europe and Asia across the Arctic Ocean. Well their wishes have just come true! In late September two German freighters where able to make the passage from Vladivostok, in the east, to Rotterdam, in the west, along the once impassable Arctic route. This trip was not only a success because it was the first successful trip along the Northeastern Passage, but also because it created other benefits too. The journey through the new route saved 10 days and $300,000 per ship. If this new route becomes viable then it means that ships will not have to take the 11,000 nautical mile voyage through the Indian Ocean, the Suez Canal, and the Mediterranean Sea. This decreased traffic could have negative impacts on countries along this route, such as Egypt, who gets a lot of money from the Suez Canal. Even though this new passage would hurt some countries, it would help others as well. Russia has the most to gain from the opening of this new route. If this new route does open Russia will see a huge economic opportunity when nit comes to northern development in Russia. Another benefit that Russia and other countries that surround the Arctic ocean will receive comes in the form of new natural resources. A US Geological Survey estimates that 25% of the world's untapped oil and 30% of untapped natural gas lie under the arctic ocean. These countries will be able to get to these natural resources and this new shipping route because the Arctic ocean's ice cape is receding at alarming rates. This year saw the third lowest amount of Arctic sea ice on record, after the record was set in 2007. This shows that polar ice caps are melting at unprecedented rates, and because of this new economic opportunities are opening up. However, not everyone is saying that this is such a great thing. Many people around the world think that the melting of polar ice caps is a bad thing no matter what economic opportunities open up. Russia feels pretty confident that the newly discovered Northeast Passage is much more preferable than Northwest passage. Russia says that there are two things that make the Northeast passage better. First, the Northwest passage runs through a maze of islands north of Canada, while the North east passage is clear water the entire time. Another drawback of the Northwest Passage is also in disputed territory because many areas that the passage goes through are being claimed by both Canada and the US. On the other hand the Northeast Passage is in undisputed Russian territory, which makes it a more secure and stable route. This new discovering is really exciting, but the new route has yet to be thoroughly tested to see if it is viable. This means that this issues of a northern passage from Europe to Asia still might just be a dream for mariners all around the world.

By:William Miller
Source: Christian Science Monitor